JP2013206812A - Lighting control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve appropriate lighting control of a lighting fixture even if the ceiling plane is high.SOLUTION: A lighting control system 1 includes a lighting fixture 2 mounted on the ceiling plane 14A and lighting, and a photographic camera 4 for capturing an image G, while including the irradiation range R of the lighting fixture 2 in the coverage, through a super-wide-angle lens 30. The lighting control system 1 is configured to specify the brightness of the irradiation range R based on the captured image G including the irradiation range R of the lighting fixture 2, and to perform lighting control of the lighting fixture 2 according to the brightness.

Description

  The present invention relates to a dimming technique for a lighting fixture.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dimming technique for dimming a lighting fixture for room lighting according to the room brightness is known in order to maintain the room brightness at an appropriate level. As this light control technology, for example, an illuminance sensor is arranged on the ceiling, reflected light from a target area (for example, a floor surface) illuminated by the luminaire is detected by the illuminance sensor, and the luminaire is dimmed based on the detection result. There are technologies (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-81982 JP 2002-75668 A

However, for example, in a building with a high ceiling surface such as a gymnasium or factory, an accurate brightness cannot be detected by an illumination sensor on the ceiling surface, and appropriate light control cannot be performed. That is, when the ceiling surface is high, the range of the floor surface detected by the illuminance sensor is wide, so that the normal illuminance sensor cannot selectively detect the illuminance of only a predetermined range of the floor surface, for example. Therefore, it is impossible to perform proper dimming for this predetermined range. Even if the detection range of the illuminance sensor with respect to the floor surface is limited by some means, it is extremely difficult to install the illuminance sensor on the ceiling surface so that the detection range matches the predetermined range of the dimming target.
This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, and it aims at providing the light control system which implement | achieves appropriate light control, even when a ceiling surface is high.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lighting device that is provided on a ceiling surface and / or a wall surface and illuminates, and an imaging device that performs imaging by including an irradiation range of the lighting device through a wide-angle lens. Provided is a light control system comprising: means for specifying brightness of the irradiation range based on a photographed image including the irradiation range of the lighting fixture, and dimming the lighting fixture according to the brightness To do.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the dimming system, the brightness of each irradiation range is specified by excluding a high-luminance portion included in the photographed image and / or a brightness component that changes in time series. To do.

  According to the present invention, in the dimming system, the gradation of each pixel of the photographed image is converted into luminance based on an algorithm for quantifying the sense of brightness that a person feels, and for each irradiation range in the photographed image. The brightness within the irradiation range is calculated by comparing the brightness outside the irradiation range, the brightness feeling is specified as the brightness of the irradiation range, and each illumination is determined according to the brightness feeling of each irradiation range. Dimming the instrument.

  According to the present invention, the illumination range irradiated by the lighting fixture is imaged by the imaging device, and the brightness of the irradiation range irradiated by the lighting fixture to be dimmed is specified in order to identify the brightness based on the image obtained by the imaging. It is possible to accurately detect the light and appropriately dim the luminaire.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the light control system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the usage condition of a light control system, (A) is a top view, (B) is a side view. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of an image processing apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a picked-up image. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a correction image. It is a flowchart which shows the light control operation | movement of a light control system.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a light control system 1 according to the present embodiment.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the light control system 1 includes a plurality of lighting fixtures 2, a photographing camera 4, an image processing device 6, a control device 8, and a setting terminal device 10.
Each of the luminaires 2 illuminates the room space 12 to be illuminated, and is substantially vertically oriented on the ceiling surface 14A side (the side facing the room) of the ceiling panel 14 constituting the ceiling of the room space 12. It is attached in a posture to irradiate directly below. These lighting fixtures 2 do not necessarily have to be the same as long as dimming control is possible by the control device 8.

The photographing camera 4 is a photographing device provided to detect the brightness of the room space 12, and is installed on the ceiling surface 14A. The photographing camera 4 photographs a vertically downward direction from the ceiling surface 14A, and takes a photographed image G (FIG. 4). The image data D1 of (see) is output to the image processing device 6.
The image processing device 6 generates brightness data D2 indicating the brightness of the floor surface 24 (see FIG. 2) of the room space 12 based on the image data D1 of the photographing camera 4 and outputs the brightness data D2 to the control device 8.
The control device 8 outputs a dimming signal D3 to each of the luminaires 2 based on the brightness data D2, and performs dimming.
The setting terminal device 10 is a device for setting / changing setting values related to image processing of the image processing device 6, for example, an image processing device through a telecommunication network such as a wired or wireless LAN or the Internet, or a serial or parallel communication line. 6 can be communicated.
The photographing camera 4, the image processing device 6, the control device 8, and the setting terminal device 10 will be described in detail later.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a usage mode when the light control system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used in the gymnasium 20, FIG. 2 (A) is a plan view, and FIG. 2 (B) is a side view.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the gymnasium 20 includes an in-house space 26 having a floor surface 24 that can be divided by arranging two basketball courts 22 side by side. 26 is used to control the brightness of the floor 24. The ceiling surface 14A of the gymnasium 20 is provided with a height H from the floor surface 24 that is generally referred to as a high ceiling, and a number of lighting fixtures 2 are provided on the ceiling surface 14A. The lighting fixture 2 irradiates light in the vertical downward direction X (FIG. 2B). The irradiation range R of each lighting fixture 2 is narrower than the floor surface 24, and each of the lighting fixtures 2 is arranged such that a part of the irradiation range R of the adjacent lighting fixture 2 overlaps the floor surface 24. The entire surface 24 is illuminated.

On the other hand, in the light control system 1, a space 26 having a wide floor 24 is photographed and detected by a single photographing camera 4. That is, the photographing camera 4 is installed at a substantially central position in plan view on the ceiling surface 14A of the hall space 26 that is a space to be illuminated, and photographs the vertical downward direction X from this installation position. As shown in FIG. 1, the photographing camera 4 is equipped with a super wide angle lens 30. As shown in FIG. 2B, the super wide-angle lens 30 has an angle of view α that can photograph at least the entire area of the floor surface 24, and the photographing camera 4 photographs directly under the super-wide angle lens 30. The photographing is performed in the photographing range including the irradiation range R immediately below each of the lighting fixtures 2. The image processing device 6 detects the brightness based on the image data D <b> 1 captured by the photographing camera 4.
Instead of the super wide-angle lens 30, a so-called fish-eye lens having an angle of view α of 180 degrees or more may be attached to the photographing camera 4 for photographing. In addition, the angle of view α of the super-wide-angle lens 30 is set so that a range including each irradiation range R of the luminaire 2 on the floor surface 24 of the room space 12 to be illuminated (in the example of FIG. 2, the hall space 26) can be captured. Is set. That is, the angle of view α is determined by conditions such as the width of each irradiation range R of the lighting fixture 2 and the height H from the floor surface 24 to the ceiling surface 14A.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 6.
As shown in the figure, the image processing apparatus 6 includes an image acquisition unit 50, a distortion correction unit 52, a brightness distribution calculation unit 54, a disturbance component removal unit 56, a brightness data generation unit 58, and a storage unit. 60 and a brightness data output unit 62. The image processing apparatus 6 is implemented by causing a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer to execute a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described units.

The image acquisition unit 50 acquires the image data D1 of the photographed image G photographed by the photographing camera 4 and outputs it to the distortion correction unit 52.
The distortion correction unit 52 generates a corrected image Ga in which distortion generated in the captured image G is corrected based on the image data D1, and outputs the corrected image Ga to the brightness distribution calculation unit 54. More specifically, since the photographic camera 4 shoots the floor surface 24 through the super wide-angle lens 30 having a large angle of view α, as shown in FIG. In addition, the wall surface 42 surrounding the floor surface 24 is also photographed. Therefore, when the area K having a certain area and shape is sectioned in the captured image G, the actual area and section shape of the floor surface 24 corresponding to the section differ depending on the position where the area K is sectioned. For example, in the captured image G, in an area K1 that divides the center of the captured image G (a position corresponding to the position directly below the captured camera 4), the captured image G is less distorted, but a position away from the center of the captured image G (wall surface 42). In the area K2 that divides the position in the vicinity of (2), the distortion of the photographed image is significant, so the actual floor area and the shape of the floor surface 24 partitioned by the areas K1 and K2 are completely different. Therefore, even if the brightness distributions of the areas K1 and K2 are the same, the brightness distribution in the areas corresponding to the areas K1 and K2 of the floor surface 24 is not the same, and the brightness distribution of the photographed image G indicates the floor distribution. The brightness distribution of the surface 24 cannot simply be obtained.

Therefore, the distortion correction unit 52 performs a distortion correction (distortion correction) process on the image data D1 of the photographing camera 4 to generate a corrected image Ga with reduced distortion as shown in FIG. In the corrected image Ga, the area and shape of the floor surface 24 corresponding to the area K are substantially constant regardless of the section position of the area K. Therefore, the brightness distribution of the floor surface 24 from the luminance distribution of the area K. Will be required.
In the distortion correction process, it is not necessary to correct the distortion of the entire region of the captured image G, and it is sufficient that at least the distortion of the range of the floor surface 24 that is the detection target of the brightness distribution is corrected. As a specific method of the distortion correction process, any method can be used as long as the distortion of the super wide-angle lens 30 can be corrected.

Returning to FIG. 3, the brightness distribution calculating unit 54 calculates the brightness distribution of the corrected image Ga by converting the luminance value of each pixel of the corrected image Ga into brightness, and outputs the brightness distribution to the disturbance component removing unit 56. To do. The brightness distribution obtained at this time shows the horizontal illuminance distribution as viewed from the photographing camera 4 in the room space 12 within the photographing range of the photographing camera 4.
The disturbance component removing unit 56 removes the variation in the brightness of the room space 12 caused by a disturbance factor other than the light of the lighting fixture 2 from the brightness distribution of the corrected image Ga and outputs it to the brightness data generating unit 58. As disturbance factors, there are obstacle lights such as sunlight from windows and light emission of other lighting fixtures, and obstacles such as people moving in the room space 12. The disturbance component removal unit 56 suppresses the influence of the obstacle light by removing a high-luminance spot (a spot whose luminance value is equal to or greater than the value regarded as the obstacle light) in the corrected image Ga. The disturbance component removing unit 56 obtains time-series fluctuations in the brightness distribution of each photographed image G based on the plurality of photographed images G, and transients by removing the brightness fluctuation component in a short time. Control the effects of common obstacles. As a result, a brightness distribution that is not affected by obstruction light and that is substantially constant in time series is obtained, and this brightness distribution indicates a brightness distribution due to illumination of the lighting fixture 2. Note that the luminance value regarded as obstacle light and the extent of the short time are determined according to disturbance factors such as obstacle light to be removed and obstacles.

The brightness data generation unit 58 generates brightness data D2 required by the control device 8 for dimming each lighting fixture 2 from the brightness distribution, and outputs the brightness data D2 to the control device 8. The brightness data D2 is not data indicating the average brightness of the entire room space 12 obtained from the brightness distribution, but the brightness for each of a plurality of target areas M appropriately set on the floor surface 24. It is shown.
More specifically, when the room space 12 to be illuminated is large, such as the hall space 26 of the gymnasium 20, the brightness in the target area that partitions the room space 12 is more important than the overall brightness of the room space 12. It is. For example, in the gymnasium 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 above, when only one of the two basketball courts 22 is used, the brightness of the basketball court 22 in use is important, and the basketball court 22 that is not in use is used. The importance of brightness is low.
Therefore, the brightness data generation unit 58 generates brightness data D2 for each target area M whose brightness is to be controlled, such as each area of the basketball court 22, and the brightness for each target area M. Is set to the value set for each individual.

The storage unit 60 stores information necessary for dimming for each target area M, and stores target area information Ia for specifying each target area M in the corrected image Ga and individual brightness of the target area M. The predetermined brightness reference value Ib and the luminaire group information Ic for specifying the group of luminaires 2 that irradiate the target area M are stored. The target area information Ia is information including the section shape and size of the target area M and the position in the corrected image Ga.
Information stored in the storage unit 60 is set and changed from the setting terminal device 10 to the image processing device 6 by a user operation. Thereby, according to the change of the object area M, the change of the installation position of the lighting fixture 2, etc., the setting of light control can be changed appropriately. Further, the image processing device 6 stores a record of the processing status relating to light control in a log file, and the log file can be acquired from the setting terminal device 10. The image processing device 6 and the setting terminal device 10 can also be configured integrally.

When the brightness data generating unit 58 generates the brightness data D2, the target area M is specified in the corrected image Ga based on the target area information Ia, and the target area is determined from the brightness distribution partitioned by the target area M. A brightness detection value that quantitatively defines the brightness of M is generated.
The brightness data generation unit 58 obtains the brightness detection value, the brightness reference value Ib of the target area M, and the luminaire group information Ic that defines a group of luminaires 2 that illuminate the target area M. It outputs to the brightness data output part 62 as the brightness data D2.
The brightness data output unit 62 is a signal output interface to the control device 8 and outputs the brightness data D2 of the brightness data generation unit 58 to the control device 8.
Based on the brightness data D2, the control device 8 outputs a dimming signal D3 to each lighting fixture 2 specified by the lighting fixture group information Ic so as to cancel out the difference between the brightness detection value and the reference value Ib. Shine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the dimming operation of the dimming system 1.
In the light control system 1, the room space 12 is continuously photographed by the photographing camera 4, and the image data D1 of the photographed image G is sequentially output to the image processing device 6. When the image processing device 6 acquires the image data D1 (step S1), the image processing device 6 generates a corrected image Ga in which distortion generated in the captured image G due to the super-wide-angle lens 30 is corrected (step S2). The brightness distribution is calculated from the brightness distribution (step S3).
Next, the image processing device 6 removes the high luminance portion from the brightness distribution, and compares the brightness distribution in time series to remove the fluctuation component of the brightness in a short time. Then, the fluctuation of the brightness due to disturbance such as obstacle light is removed from the brightness distribution, and the brightness distribution due to the illumination of the lighting fixture 2 is generated exclusively (step S4). Then, the image processing device 6 changes the area for obtaining the brightness distribution from the corrected image Ga to the target area M, extracts the brightness distribution limited to the target area M (step S5), and this brightness distribution. Based on the above, the brightness detection value of the target area M is calculated. The brightness detection value is output from the image processing device 6 to the control device 8 as brightness data D2 together with the brightness reference value Ib and the luminaire group information Ic corresponding to the target area M.
The control device 8 compares the brightness reference value Ib of the target area M with the brightness detection value (step S6), and sets each lighting fixture 2 specified by the lighting fixture group information Ic so as to cancel the difference between the two. On the other hand, the dimming signal D3 is output (step S7).
And when the process of step S5-S7 is performed with respect to each of all the target areas M set to the room space 12 (step S8: YES), the light control system 1 performs a process sequence to step S1. Then, the dimming control is continued (step S9: NO), or if the dimming control is unnecessary, the process is terminated as it is (step S9: YES).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the imaging camera 4 captures an image directly below the ceiling surface 14A irradiated by the lighting fixture 2, and the brightness is specified based on the image data D1 obtained by the imaging. Even when the ceiling surface 14A is high, the brightness of the irradiation range R of each lighting fixture 2 can be appropriately specified.
In addition to this, the photographing camera 4 is provided directly below the ceiling surface 14A, and directly below the vertical surface (vertically below the ceiling surface 14A through the super-wide-angle lens 30 including the irradiation range R immediately below each lighting fixture 2 in the photographing range. Since it is a structure which image | photographs the direction X), each irradiation range R of each lighting fixture 2 can be image | photographed simultaneously with the one imaging camera 4, and the number of installation can be reduced. By reducing the number of installed units, when the ceiling surface 14A is high, the labor of construction can be omitted.
Furthermore, based on the image data D1 obtained by this photographing, the brightness is specified for each irradiation range R, and the lighting fixture 2 can be dimmed independently so as to have the brightness set for each.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the brightness of each target area M is specified excluding the influence of obstacle light and obstacles such as high-luminance portions included in the captured image G and brightness components that change in time series. Therefore, the brightness of the target area M can be accurately detected and dimmed.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an example of one aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied.

  In the above-described embodiment, the dimming is performed for each target area M irradiated by the plurality of lighting fixtures 2 specified by the lighting fixture group information Ic. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and irradiation by one lighting fixture 2 is performed. It is good also as a structure which detects brightness for every range R, and adjusts light.

In the embodiment described above, lighting in a high ceiling building such as a gymnasium 20 or a factory facility is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the dimming system 1 is used for a general office or living space whose ceiling is lower than the high ceiling. It can also be applied to dimming lighting fixtures.
Furthermore, although the case where each lighting fixture 2 of the light control system 1 illuminates directly below was illustrated, it is not restricted to this. For example, even in the case of side lighting that illuminates a pool obliquely downward from a wall surface on the pool side, the present invention can be applied by photographing the irradiation range of the lighting fixture 2 with the photographing camera 4. Of course, the lighting fixture 2 may be provided on both the ceiling surface and the wall surface.
Moreover, although the case where the light control system 1 was provided with the some lighting fixture 2 and dimmed these was illustrated, not only this but you may light-control one lighting fixture 2. FIG. For example, in outdoor parking lot illumination, a single illumination fixture 2 is often provided on one illumination column for illumination. In this case, the photographic camera 4 may be installed at the tip of the illumination column, etc., and the illumination device 2 may be dimmed by photographing the irradiation range in the parking lot.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the photographing camera 4 included in the light control system 1 is installed at a substantially central position in a plan view on the ceiling surface 14A is exemplified, but for example, whether there is an obstacle or the ceiling surface 14A and the floor surface 24 The positions may be appropriately shifted depending on the relationship.
In the embodiment described above, the number of the photographing cameras 4 included in the light control system 1 is one. However, there are a plurality of illumination cameras, each of which captures a different range and illuminates each range. It is good also as a structure which dimmes the instrument 2. FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, the light control system 1 is configured to calculate the brightness distribution from the brightness distribution of the corrected image Ga. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The distribution may be calculated.
In detail, when a person visually recognizes an object, even if the brightness of the object is the same, the brightness felt by the person with respect to the object due to the difference in brightness from the periphery of the object. It is known to be different. Therefore, for example, in the field of lighting design of space, when simulating the light environment (space luminance distribution) created according to the arrangement of lighting fixtures, quantification of the sense of brightness that people feel for the light environment (For example, JP 2002-39859 A and JP 2007-221654 A).
Therefore, the image processing apparatus 6 generates a brightness feeling distribution as the brightness distribution of the corrected image Ga, and a predetermined brightness feeling (brightness feeling) for each target area M based on the brightness feeling distribution. The light is adjusted so that it becomes the reference value.

Specifically, the basic principle of the algorithm that quantifies the brightness perceived by humans is simply to calculate the main luminance contrast amount between the area of the object and the surrounding area. The relative value between the luminance of the object and the peripheral luminance is indicated by the contrast amount. Therefore, when the image processing device 6 calculates the brightness feeling of a certain target area M in the corrected image Ga, the image processing device 6 converts the gradation value of each pixel of the corrected image Ga into a luminance value, and the luminance of the target area M A contrast amount between (for example, the average brightness value of the range of the target area M) and the brightness of each point around the target area M is obtained, and a sense of brightness is calculated by obtaining an integrated value of these contrast amounts.
Thus, by dimming for each target area M based on the sense of brightness, in the same room space 12, another target area M (for example, an adjacent basketball) located around the target area M to be dimmed. Even when the coat 22) is turned off, a constant brightness feeling can always be maintained for the target area M to be dimmed.
In the calculation of the feeling of brightness, when it is not necessary to consider a disturbance factor, the captured image G may be used instead of the corrected image Ga.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dimming system 2 Lighting fixture 4 Photographing camera (imaging device)
6 Image processing device 8 Control device 12 Room space 14 Ceiling panel 14A Ceiling surface 24 Floor surface 30 Super wide angle lens (wide angle lens)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Image acquisition part 52 Distortion correction | amendment part 54 Brightness distribution calculation part 56 Disturbance component removal part 58 Brightness data generation part 60 Storage part D1 Image data D2 Brightness data D3 Dimming signal G Captured image Ga Correction | amendment image Ia Target area information Ib Brightness reference value Ic Lighting fixture group information M Target area R Irradiation range X Vertically downward (directly below)

Claims (3)

A lighting fixture that is provided on the ceiling surface and / or wall surface to illuminate;
An imaging device for capturing an image including the illumination range of the lighting apparatus through a wide-angle lens;
A light control system comprising: means for specifying brightness of the irradiation range based on a captured image including the irradiation range of the lighting device, and dimming the lighting device according to the brightness.   The dimming system according to claim 1, wherein brightness of each irradiation range is specified by excluding a high-luminance portion included in the photographed image and / or a brightness component that changes in time series. Based on an algorithm that quantifies the sense of brightness that a person feels, the gradation of each pixel of the captured image is converted into luminance, and for each irradiation range in the captured image, the luminance within the irradiation range, and the irradiation range The brightness is calculated by contrasting with the brightness outside, and the brightness feeling is specified as the brightness of the irradiation range, and each lighting apparatus is dimmed according to the brightness feeling of each irradiation range. Item 3. The light control system according to item 1 or 2.

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